What Love Does
by thxoutcasts
Summary: Anastasia Graceton is a witch with a secret. She is a half blood and now she is off to Hogwarts, into a world her mother has kept her from her whole life. Anastasia was new to all this, but the secrets her mother kept will come back to haunt her. **I would absolutely love reviews, helpful criticism and such, let me know what you think! I hope to update at least once a week**
1. Chapter 1: Meeting Dumbledore

What Love Does

**DISCLAIMER: This story is based off the events created by J.K. Rowling. Anything that is from the Harry Potter books is rightfully hers. I am not trying to take credit for those things, just the ones I thought up of, not Diagon Alley, or Hogwarts, or Harry Potter, but the story of Anastasia Graceton, the character I created in my own time and most of the events that she goes through are my own ideas**

Chapter 1

Anastasia sits at the small dining table with her mother, reading her letter that had been addressed specifically to her for what must have been the hundredth time. She was extremely excited to finally meet other wizards and go to a school of people who were like her, but she also worries someone will find out her secret. Mother spoke very little of her time at Hogwarts, but that was not out of spite or bad intentions. Maria Graceton, Anastasia's mother, had left the wizarding world soon after Anastasia was born, but the young girl barely knew why. All she knew was that her father had made life very difficult for Maria, and that the witch had no other way but to get out. The only person she ever kept in contact with due to necessity was Albus Dumbledore. The letter said that Dumbledore would be escorting them, or just Anastasia if that was preferred, to Diagon Alley. Anastasia noted that her mother seemed very nervous at the prospect facing her to enter back into the world she had shut herself out of.

"I don't think I'll be coming with you," her mother says

Anastasia nods, "I understand mother" she says quietly as she stands from the table, "Do you think I should tell Dumbledore about my speaking parseltongue?" Last summer, Anastasia's mother had realized her daughter could talk to snakes after catching Anastasia talking a snake out of eating a field mouse by giving it a piece of steak. The snake was now her pet and lived in a glass case that sat under a heat lamp. She usually let him out for sometime during the day and he always returned. She had named him Oedipus, The Odyssey had been one of her favorite books. She had always loved reading, from a young age, and her mother never discouraged it and she had a much higher reading level than most children.

"I'm sure he already knows" Maria replies with a smile, turning back to the stove, "He is exceptionally bright" Anastasia nods again, resuming washing dishes as she asks, "How will we pay for the supplies?"

"Well, I haven't been using much of the money that I put in the bank, and that was when I put it in a long while ago, the interest would have made it a bit more than I had when I put it in. Dumbledore has been keeping the key safe and sending the money we need when we need it. Now darling, dinner's ready, set the table please." Anastasia hurried to set the table, eating quietly and thinking of what new things will happen in Diagon Alley. It was July 30; Dumbledore would be coming to take her there the next day. Her mother takes her old pet owl to the window with a letter that said

Dear Dumbledore,

Anastasia, of course, is attending Hogwarts. She will be ready tomorrow morning for you to pick her up. I will be opening the floo for the day, or if you prefer to apparate here, but I must ask you not to apparate with her because she will not enjoy the sensation. I trust you still have the key to the vault.

Thank you in advance,

Maria Graceton

She rolls up the piece of paper, gives it to the owl and says quietly, "Take this to Dumbledore" and it flies out the window.

"Mother?" Anastasia was curious. Her mother had never ever sent a letter with Duweld, "Why have we got an owl if we've been staying away from the wizarding world? Why did you buy one?" Her mother had had Duweld for as long as Anastasia could remember, but she must have bought her, owls don't just fly up to people.

She turns around and says, "We…I mean I didn't buy it, if that is what you're asking. Your father had a girl owl and I had a boy. They would stay together in that big cage we got rid of last year, do you remember?"

"Yes" Anastasia nods, recalling how her and her mother had cleaned out the shed in the backyard last year and there was an extremely big cage that they had thrown out among other things.

"Well they stayed together in that and that's how Duweld was born. But it's getting quite late and you'll have to be up early in the morning, I think it's time for bed Anastasia," her mother says quietly, "Big day tomorrow"

Anastasia nods and gives her mother a quick kiss on the cheek, going up to her room. She was extremely excited to begin living as part of the wizarding world, although she worried for her mother. She knew her father had been cruel to her but she had no idea of his actions or why even the mention of him upset her mother so much.

-The Next Day | July 31-

Maria had woken Anastasia up early to dress her in nice clothes, unlike the sweatpants and hoodies she usually wears. Her hair is done and they are in the kitchen when they hear a *pop* in the living room. "Care for some eggs, Dumbledore?" her mother calls

"Yes please" an elderly man steps into the kitchen, smiling

"Mother?" Anastasia is a bit confused, "Where did this man come from?"

"He apparated here dear, you know, magically appearing" her mother spoons some eggs onto a plate.

Anastasia's eyes light up. Her mother rarely did any magic and Anastasia was eager to learn, "Do I get to try apparating?"

"Of course not! It's advanced magic; you need a license for it, like you need to drive a car. Anyways, most people get sick from doing it. You'll be using the floo, the fireplace. I trust you got my letter Dumbledore"

Anastasia looks around and realizes Duweld is sleeping in her cage, explaining the lack of reaction at Dumbledore's sudden appearance.

"Oh yes, I did. I had been hoping you would join us. Hagrid is going to be there today. I'm sure you would remember him." Dumbledore is wearing robes, long ones that reached the floor and they were navy blue and his long white beard is straight, as was his long gray hair that lay under the cap he wore. His half-moon glasses lay on his nose and his eyes had a twinkle in them that made him seem like a trustworthy person.

"Oh that big, sweet, dear. But I think it best for me to stay home" her mother hands him the plate with steaming eggs and bacon.

"Thank you" Dumbledore smiles at her as he eats the breakfast, "We've missed you, my dear"

"I can't go back Dumbledore, especially not after what happened…they would never forgive me" she shakes her head quickly, washing a pan in the sink

"You?" Anastasia's confused again, but angry this time, "But mother, you...you didn't do anything! He was the one who left you, left us!" Anastasia was not fully aware of his father's actions, her mother never told her, but she did know he treated her mother badly and that he died a long while ago.

"Hush Anastasia!" her mother says firmly, but Dumbledore shakes his head, swallowing his eggs, "The child has a point, does she know?"

"Of course not, there isn't an adult that can carry that burden, let alone a child. When I think of that poor boy….of course I can blame myself, if I hadn't been so reckless, if I had just been a bit more careful..." Her mother starts sobbing, standing at the sink and Anastasia hugs her and Dumbledore has her sit down at the table, gives her a handkerchief, and rubs her back, "There, there dear, it will all be all right" and she calms down, gets up, and goes to the 'Magic Cupboard', which is in the floor of the kitchen, under a mat, and gets a jar of green powder. She sniffles, beginning to smile and gives it to Dumbledore, "I think it only right you teach her the first magic she'll do, since you taught me the first magic I did"

Dumbledore nods and takes the jar, "I would be honored to" and they walk to the living room, "Anastasia, I want you to take a bit of this powder, just hold it" she nods and takes a bit of it in her hand as Dumbledore explains how it's done, "You must stand in the fireplace and throw the floo dust down while you yell your destination. You must say it very clearly, or you may end up in the wrong spot."

Anastasia nods and watches Dumbledore set the jar down on the mantle of the fireplace, wave good bye to her mother, 'See you soon dear' and stands in the fireplace, "DIAGON ALLEY" throws down the floo dust in a puff of green smoke is gone.

"Have a wonderful time dear, you may even get a present" her mother smiles a secretive smile at her that makes Anastasia suspicious, "What's going on mother?"

"Don't worry, go, Dumbledore's waiting! And here, don't forget your letter," her mother urges her, using the 'shoo' gesture after handing her the envelope.

Anastasia sighs and steps into the fireplace, closes her eyes, shouts, "DIAGON ALLEY" while throwing the dust down and is jerked up into the fireplace, in a whoosh and is dropped again, coughing as a hand helps her up as her eyes are still closed. Dumbledore chuckles faintly at seeing her still squeezing her eyes closed, "you can open them now, welcome to Diagon Alley, or well, this is the Leaky Cauldron.

Anastasia blinks quickly, rubbing the dust out of her eyes and standing up, with Dumbledore's help. She wipes the soot off her jeans and looks around. Most of the people are crowded around a giant man and a little boy. The giant man looks over and smiles at them as everyone seems to be occupied talking to the boy. The boy had strange glasses, which were broken in several places and held together by tape, and mess hair as well as green eyes. Anastasia could just make out a scar on his forehead. She looks up at Dumbledore, who nods at the man and leads Anastasia out the back, "Come now, we have much to do today and very little time." Dumbledore takes his wand out and starts tapping the bricks and Anastasia asks, "Who was that man, sir?"

"That was Hagrid. He works at the school as the gamekeeper. He cares for all the magical creatures and whatnot"

Anastasia nods and Dumbledore finishes the tapping on the wall and it starts to open up, the bricks folding into each other to make a doorway.

"Wow," Anastasia is amazed at all the people in the square, the hustle and bustle of the shoppers, the shouts of greetings between them occasionally. She spots a shop the sold owls, toads, cats, and other pets, with a very stern looking owl standing on a perch outside of the shop's door. There is Apothecary next to that and you could see people inside weighing items and haggling over what is probably the price. There were crates outside with items in it that seemed to be moving. Anastasia was looking around so fast that she almost hit her head on the brick wall that had closed up behind them.

"Careful now, we must go to Gringotts and get funds before we get ahead of ourselves." Dumbledore slowly guides her through the crowds, which part easily for him and he gets a respectful nod from everyone. They reach the first set of bronze doors, where there is a small clever looking creature in a red and gold uniform. He gives them a respectful bow as he opens the door for them, where there is a second set of silver doors, "Sir, what was that outside?"

"Oh that was a goblin, they run Gringotts" he explains patiently. Anastasia nods and notices a small poem engraved in the doors,

'Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there'

Anastasia shudders at the meaning of the poem, imagining torture chambers and horrible deaths. When they are bowed in by two more uniformed goblins, Anastasia is again in awe at the magnificence of the marble hall. There were at least 50 counters, behind each was a goblin. Some of the goblins were weighing out rubies or other precious gems and Anastasia would not help but stare as she and Dumbledore walked past.

"Good morning, we are here to take money out of Ms. Anastasia Graceton's vault" Dumbledore says politely to a goblin behind an empty counter.

"Sir, I think you mean my mother's vault," Anastasia whispers

"No Anastasia, your mother put the vault under your name once you were born; she plans to stay away from the wizarding world as long as she can." Dumbledore gets a sad look on his face as he glances down at her and says that and says that. The goblin clears his throat and holds out his hand, "The key, please?"

Dumbledore takes a small key out of his robe pocket and hands it to the goblin, who inspects it and nods, "Very well sir, I will take you down to the vault, follow me please"

The goblin, whose placard sitting on the counter read Grillion, takes them to a big door and opens it, revealing a stone passage that sloped downwards, with tunnels and multiple rails going in different directions. There are carts on each rail and he opens the door to one the carts and waits for them to climb in and closes the door behind them.

"I suggest that you brace yourself" Dumbledore says quickly as the cart starts moving, gaining speed at a rather fast pace. Anastasia's hair is whipping in all directions and she grips the side of the cart with both hands, her teeth set together, her lips being parted by the wind as they go through the different tunnels and make numerous turns finally coming to a stop, so quickly she is almost thrown forward into Grillion. He gets out and holds the door open again for them to get out. He takes the key and steps up to the door, unlocking it. There are a lot of clicks and the door pops open, red smoke billowing out and once it clears, you see what's inside. There are three different kinds of coins, gold, silver, and bronze all . Dumbledore steps in and explains each to her, "The gold coins are Galleons. The silver are Sickles. Seventeen of these make up a Galleon. The little bronze ones are called Knuts, and twenty-nine of them make up a Sickle. Now, since there is quite a fortune here, you're going to take what you need. You may want to take a bag" Dumbledore smiles at her and gives her a cloth bag, which they quickly fill with a few handfuls of each coin, adding a considerable amount of weight.

"Now, thank you Grillion, we are finished" Dumbledore nods to him and Grillion gives him back the key as they climb in the cart again. Anastasia holds her breath as they speed up and when they get up to the ground level, they thank Grillion and make their way outside


	2. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

**DISCLAIMER: This story is based off the events created by J.K. Rowling. Anything that is from the Harry Potter books is rightfully hers. I am not trying to take credit for those things, just the ones I thought up of, not Diagon Alley, or Hogwarts, or Harry Potter, but the story of Anastasia Graceton, the character I created in my own time and most of the events that she goes through are my own ideas**

Chapter 2

Dumbledore easily makes his way through the crowds before turning to Anastasia, "I trust that your mother sent the list of supplies. The first thing we should take care of is the school supplies. We can get your wand just before we go," Dumbledore decides.

Anastasia nods and pulls out the envelope she had tucked into her pocket, getting the supplies list out to show Dumbledore. He glances over it and then around the alley, "I think we should start with the books, I'll have them mailed to your mother's house so we don't have to bother carrying them. Then measurements for robes. Madame Malkin is an extremely gifted seamstress and it won't take her long to alter robes to fit you once she's gotten all the correct numbers."

Anastasia loses track of what he's saying, especially when he mentions a name she was unfamiliar with. She simply nods and glances around, noting an animal shop just down the street, "Professor, is that a pet shop?" she asks curiously, wanting a closer look.

"Yes, students are allowed cats, toads, and owls," Dumbledore explains as they walk towards the bookstore, "Owls are most useful as they can send and retrieve mail but cats are excellent companions, toads...are far too easily lost to be a wise choice."

"Are those the only pets allowed at Hogwarts? Because I… well I have a..." Anastasia is clearly nervous about telling Dumbledore about Oedipus but thankfully, the headmaster interrupts her.

"A pet snake?" The old man has a twinkle in his eye as he says what he knows Anastasia was nervous about, much to the girl's surprise.

"I… yes, but how did you know that sir? How did you guess?"

Dumbledore opens the door to the shop and leads to the shelves of first-year books, "Knowing what I know about your parents, I didn't have trouble guessing that you can speak with snakes, and that, as well as the fact you spend a lot of time alone, would lead me to believe that you befriended an animal, a snake," the man explains easily.

Anastasia stares at him in a bit of shock before blinking slowly, "Wow, mother was right, you did know," she mumbles, much to the amusement of Dumbledore, who replies, "I'll have to discuss it with the other professors, but so long as the creature isn't a danger to students, which is rather hard to say on sight. I wouldn't advise bringing it to school right away, but I'll let you know later in the year."

Anastasia doesn't like the idea of being without her friend, who had been with her all these years, but also wanted to make a good impression at the school, so she nods and doesn't try to argue the point.

Dumbledore helps her get all the correct books and asks a shopkeeper to mail it to Anastasia's address before leading the way out of the shop, "Now this is much easier than carrying it around, especially since we don't have a trunk to carry everything," he comments as he leads down the street to the robes shop.

"Won't I need to buy one sir? To travel to school with?" Anastasia asks with confusion.

"No, no I believe your mother still has hers from when she was in school, she'll allow you to use that instead of spending money on a new one," Dumbledore explains, letting Ana into the shop first before following her.

It was a quaint shop with many distinct types of robes, but Anastasia didn't have a clue which ones she was supposed to buy. Presently, an older woman comes around one of the shelves and smiles brightly at the pair, "Dumbledore, it's been quite a while since I've seen you in my shop," she says as she looks over the robes hanging up, "And who is this young lady?"

Dumbledore smiles and nods his head, "It's been quite a few years but it's always a pleasure Madame Malkin. This is Anastasia, she will be joining Hogwarts as a first year and needs a set of robes," The professor explains.

"Not a problem, I can take her back to the fitting room and get her measurements," she smiles brightly at Anastasia, who looks to Dumbledore nervously. The older man smiles reassuringly at her and that's enough to encourage her to follow the woman. She is placed on a little stool and a tape measure begins floating around her, taking measurements which Madame Malkin jots down. "Wait just a moment here dear, I'll see what I have already made that I can alter," the woman says before walking towards the shelves of clothing.  
Anastasia stays standing on the stool and looks around, it looked like a normal clothing store, except that there were no jeans or shirts, just robes, robes, and more robes. Some of them looked very fancy, like dresses and suits but were still robes. Anastasia already had so many questions about this new world. Why was the bank run by goblins, was there only one bank? Why were there only robes, didn't wizards and witches wear normal clothing?  
Before she can even get all the questions straight, Madame Malkin comes back with the appropriate robes, "Here we are dear, just a perfect fit," she smiles gently as she puts the folded clothes in the girl's hands. There were set of three neatly folded robes, a winter cloak, as well as a pointed hat on top, which was on the student list as well. Anastasia thanks the woman as she pulls the appropriate payment out of the bag of coins before going back to the front. To her surprise, Dumbledore was not there but the older woman senses her worry and smiles faintly, "I think he's just outside dear, he must have wanted to get something while you were being fitted. He should be waiting outside, it's not like him to abandon his charges. We can give him a minute while I wrap up your robes, wouldn't want them getting dirty before school even starts and then we'll even have a chance to get your name tags ready."  
Anastasia nods slowly and hands the garments to her, watching as she waves her wand and the wrapping paper and twine move on their own until the folded black robes aren't so anymore and they are a small brown parcel tied up with a neat bow. Madame Malkin smiles as she hands it to Anastasia, "Now all that's left are your name tags, Miss…"  
"Graceton, Anastasia Graceton," the young girl says with a bright smile as she takes the parcel. The woman turns away, wondering why that name sounded so vaguely familiar, like when she hadn't heard a song in years and hearing it again it felt like it was new and old all at the same time. Madame Malkin shrugs as she gets a set of name tags, using her wand to engrave on it the name 'Anastasia Graceton'. She sets them on the counter and disappears into the back before coming out with a set of dragon hide gloves, which Anastasia had completely forgotten about. She wraps the name tags and gloves as well in the same brown paper and helps the girl tuck it under the twine tied around the other package so there was no hope of losing it.  
"It was a pleasure to meet you Ms. Graceton, I'm sure I'll see you regularly now. You're more than welcome to wait here if you wish or…oh there's Dumbledore now. Have a wonderful day!" Madame Malkin smiles brightly at her and urges her to go outside to meet Dumbledore.  
It turns out that the headmaster had gone to the pet store they had passed earlier, and now he stood with a Boreal owl, which stood on a perch in the large cage that he sat in. Anastasia looks startled at the sight of the animal, glancing to the professor with confusion in hopes of an explanation.

"Well I don't think your mother would want to part with Duweld since then she would be alone in her house, but she wouldn't want you to be without a way to contact her. This is your owl now, we can go back to the store to pick up a few things for him, but first I think you should name him, have you any ideas?" he asks as he leads the way back to the shop.  
Anastasia studies the owl, who looks very serious but so did most of the owls she could see in shop windows. This owl was rather stout, and Anastasia grins, "I think I'll call him Pudge," she decides after a moment.  
Dumbledore nods, "Excellent. Now here we can get food and a book on how to care for them. I trust you can use this next month to read it and understand. At Hogwarts, the owls typically stay in the Owlery and taken care of but it would be smart to learn how to do it yourself since it'll be your responsibility when you take him home for breaks and such," Dumbledore explains.  
Anastasia nods in understanding and picks up a book that detailed how to care for Owls as well as a large bag of food which would be kept at home. Anastasia also gets a small bag of treats, something she could use to train Pudge to carry letters, which was something the back cover of the book mentioned needed to be done. Dumbledore helps her count out the correct payment before leading her to their next stop, the Cauldron shop

Anastasia noted that the store seemed busy, mostly of students and that didn't seem unusual to her given that she was here for school supplies as well. The girl looks around at all the different options of cauldrons and there was a standard one that Anastasia took an instant liking to, and she can't help but notice a gold one directly behind it and she has to keep from laughing, who needs a solid gold cauldron? Seemed like a strange waste of money, but she doesn't think on it too long. Dumbledore helps her move the Cauldron before advising her to put her previous purchases of the robes and pet supplies into it to make things a bit easier on her. They pay for it and Dumbledore sees a trolley outside, which they set the cauldron and owl cage on so they can go on without too much difficulty. They head down to the Apothecary to get supplies for a class, Potions as Dumbledore explained to her when she asked. Inside there is a wide array of ingredients, some disgusting and some fascinating, but Dumbledore doesn't linger around these right away. He goes further inside. The first thing he does is lead her to the back and help her pick out a Potion Kit Bag. It had the standards needed for this class, which is all they needed.  
Anastasia takes a turn pushing the cart towards their next stop, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. They would get the last of her school supplies before getting her wand. Anastasia was particularly excited for that and she can't hide it from her smile.  
Dumbledore looks faintly amused, but understands. Whenever he took students out, their favorite part always seemed to be the wand. "How do you feel about all this Anastasia?" Dumbledore asks gently as they walk through the crowds.

Anastasia looks up at the Professor and has to take a minute to gather her thoughts, "I'm excited of course, nervous too. This is all so different than I imagined it but some things are the same. I didn't know wizards wore robes all the time, but I did hope to learn about potions in school. Mother had to use one once, when I got very sick but Muggle medicine wasn't helping at all," She explains. Her mother avoided using magic as much as possible, as if she was afraid of it, as if she was worried she would mess up.  
Dumbledore nods, understanding this and she was taking it rather well. At least Maria hadn't kept the knowledge that they were magical from her daughter, things would be much more difficult that way.  
"What do you know about our world, has your mother told you anything?" Dumbledore asks gently.  
Anastasia shakes her head faintly, "No, not much. I didn't know about anything, all I know is that she met my father when they were at Hogwarts together but that he left when she became pregnant. Then he made life too difficult for her somehow and that's why we live way out in the middle of nowhere. My father hasn't contacted my mother since then and then he died so I never got to meet him. And Mother hasn't gone back ever since she left, staying in the countryside with me," she explains quietly.

Dumbledore nods, "Well, you'll enjoy Hogwarts I think, it's a safe place and it's a place you can grow and decide how you want to use your magic or if you want to use it at all," he says as they reach the equipment store.  
Anastasia nods and walks inside, looking around at all the supplies, some that she didn't even recognize. They first choose a set of phialls, which already came in the Potion Kit but those were glass and Anastasia was worried about them breaking. Dumbledore helps her pick out Crystal Phialls and they give them over to be wrapped in cloth and then packaged in brown paper. Next the professor helps Anastasia get a brass scale and weights, which also needed to be disassembled and wrapped. She had never used such scales before but she was more than excited now for her potions class, and for school in general.  
The last thing the needed before going to the wand shop was a telescope. Anastasia already had one at home, she and mother loved to look at constellations together. But she knew her mother would appreciate being able to do so without her and decided to get a new one to give mother and Anastasia would take the old one. But since it's a present for her mother, she picks a really good one, not the usual one for first years, which prompts Dumbledore to say, "Anastasia that's a very advanced telescope, you won't need it so early on."

"Well, we already have a telescope at home sir, I wanted to give this one to my mother in exchange so that she can use it when I'm at school. She and I enjoy stargazing so if we both have telescopes, we can do it at the same time and even though we're far apart…we'll be looking at the same stars and moon." She explains, feeling a little silly when she vocalizes it. But Dumbledore nods and seems to encourage it, taking her to the front where they make their purchases.  
Pudge seems to have fallen asleep, bored in his cage and Anastasia giggles as she notices this while putting the rest of her purchases away. Her cauldron was packed with her robes, gloves, and her owl book. Everything else was packaged and stacked on the trolley around the bird cage. Anastasia was half glad that they were nearly done, she didn't know how much more she could fit on this trolley.

Dumbledore leads her down the street to an old looking store, it was called Ollivanders. Dumbledore glances inside, before smiling at Anastasia, "I'll wait out here with our things, you'll be alright alone. Ollivander is the best wand-maker and he won't steer you wrong."  
Anastasia feels her nerves about this whole thing grow a bit but her excitement doesn't shrink, her only thought is that she doesn't know how a wand will be given to her. Was there a test? Would she be examined by a wizard to see how strong her magic is?

She takes a slow breath before opening the door and stepping inside. It was quiet, and dust floated through the air of the seemingly abandoned shop. She couldn't see anyone or anything besides the countless shelves of long, thin boxes. She clears her throat and calls softly, "Is there anyone here?"  
Almost immediately she hears hurried footsteps coming from the back and a short, old man comes into view, "Hello dear, here for a wand I take it?"

Anastasia nods shyly, "Yes, I'm Anastasia Graceton," she says softly as she steps forward to the counter.  
"Graceton…Graceton, your mother wouldn't happen to be Maria Graceton now would it?" He asks curiously.  
"Yes sir but…how did you know that?" Anastasia asks with confusion, wondering if someone had told him that she was coming.

"I'm Ollivander young lady, I remember every wand I sell, even hers. Willow I believe, with Unicorn Hair for the core." He explains with a warm smile.  
"I did not know she had a daughter though, and I would have expected her child to come through my shop much sooner." He chuckles faintly.  
"I don't see how sir, she had me when she was still at Hogwarts," she says gently, not wanting to upset the older gentleman by arguing with him.  
Ollivander looks confused at this, "You mean it was only 11 years ago that I sold her wand to her? I don't see how…or maybe I'm finally starting to forget things," he chuckles.  
Anastasia looks unconcerned with this, hardly expecting this man to remember everything.

"Well, for you dear, I think it would be wise to start testing wands," he decides. Anastasia instantly remembers her earlier fears, "Is there a test of some sort? I don't know much about magic, I don't…"  
"Oh no, no of course not, all I need you to do is grasp the wand and you'll know when it's the right one. As I always say, the wand chooses the wizard or witch."  
He looks about his shelves and pulls out a box, "Here we are, Rowan, 13 inches and a Unicorn hair core, not very flexible but strong," he says as he hands it to her. Anastasia grips it but finds herself feeling no different and having no reaction from the wand.

"Ah well, it's very rare that I get it right on the first try. Here, try this one. It's Elm with dragon heartstring, 9 inches and quite supple."  
Anastasia tries but yet again feels nothing, not from this one or the next. The small pile of boxes on the front counter grows with each try. Ollivander pulls out box after box and seems to be more excited every time he does so, determined to match Anastasia with the perfect wand for her. He pulls out a box and opens it, "Try this one, 12 inches, made of Pine and Dragon Heartstring. It's quite flexible, something that will make learning with it quite easy," he says, handing it to her. Anastasia sighs softly, taking it without much hope but is startled when this time she does feel something. She stares at the one that she grasps, feeling tingles as if electricity was flooding through her, and sparks flew off the end of the wand and suddenly, boxes fly off the shelves as if by their own accord. "Sorry!" Anastasia says hurriedly, lowering the wand but Ollivander chuckles and waves his wand, causing everything to fly back into place.  
"It's no matter, I hoped this would be the right one, it was nice to meet you dear," he says with a grin to her. Anastasia nods and pays for her wand, which she puts back inside the box to take outside to Dumbledore.  
"How did it go, Ollivander is the best wandmaker in the world you know," Dumbledore mentions as he stands to walk her back to The Leaky Cauldron.  
"He was very nice, and he remembers my mother but he's surprised that she's so young I think, he seems to believe he sold her wand to her ages ago, but he didn't quite recall," she remembers as Dumbledore starts tapping on bricks to get out of Diagon Alley. Dumbledore glances to her as the wall opens, but doesn't comment on that, as if he didn't know quite what to say. "I'm glad you found your wand although I do have to warn you. Doing magic outside of school or in front of non-magical people is illegal and could result in your wand being taken away as well as your expulsion from school. Even if it's just you and your mother, I would advise against it because of how many muggles live in the land surrounding you." He warns her gently as they approach the fire place. "Here, I'll send all this to your mother's house, then it'll be there when we go by floo," he says before waving the wand he held and making everything vanish to presumably the house. The floo powder works exactly how it had, although this time Anastasia says quite clearly, 'Maria Graceton's house'. She arrives shortly after Dumbledore, who is greeting her mother again. They all say their goodbyes and the headmaster is about to leave when he pauses and pulls a slip of paper, "Oh I nearly forgot, this is your train ticket. It leaves on September 1st, exactly at 11:00. I would advise against being late or else we shall have to make special accommodations for you. I would hate to see you miss anything of your first day and night with the other children,"  
Anastasia nods and hopes that in the month to follow, her mother would agree to take her to the train so she wouldn't have to go alone. She takes the ticket and studies it before smiling at Dumbledore, "Thank you sir, for taking me to Diagon Alley and for Pudge," she says gratefully.  
Dumbledore nods and soon apparates.  
Maria was beaming, happy that her child was starting to learn magic and entering this new world even if Maria wouldn't be there for every step. The two of them have dinner, which was much appreciated by Anastasia who realizes she had missed lunch completely in her excitement about the shopping.

That night, Anastasia puts all her supplies carefully in her room and spends time acquainting herself with Pudge. She feeds him a few treats to reward him for his calm behavior today as well as greeting Oedipus. She lays in bed and speaks to her companion snake about everything she saw and learned today, clearly excited to start school in a month.


End file.
